Are You Giving Your Services Away For Free?

How many surgeries do you have to reschedule because insurance information was obtained the day before the procedure but the patient needs an authorization which can take a week to obtain? Rescheduling patients leaves open slots in your schedule where you’re not earning money.

Or worse, how much money have you lost because insurance wasn’t verified and surgery was performed on a patient who required an authorization? Performing a surgery without the necessary authorization is giving that surgery away for free. 

DID YOU KNOW? 
80 percent of claims submitted are rejected because of eligibility problems. 

How do you avoid giving your services away for free?

Successful ambulatory surgical billing starts with the surgical coordinator and/or the front-end staff. Collecting complete, accurate and current patient information from the surgeon’s office as early as possible will give you a head-start on ensuring you’ve done everything you possibly can do to get payment for services rendered at your surgery center. By obtaining the patient’s full name, DOB, phone number and all insurance information a minimum of one week in advance will provide your billing department with enough time to verify the patient’s insurance and confirm that it is active. 

• Does the patient require a referral or an authorization?
• Do they have a co-pay, co-insurance or deductible for the upcoming surgery?
• Have you notified the patient regarding any of these required items prior to their visit? By giving your billing department enough time to do its job, you will minimize the need to reschedule surgeries, increase your revenue by collecting patient responsibilities at TOS, and avoid having an empty OR or performing surgeries for free.

For more information, you can contact our Billing Department directly at 800-955-4428 or Sheetal Shah at sshah@americansurgisite.com, 800-955-7483.